Museums

This weekend, I visited two major London museums - The British Museum and the Victoria & Albert.  Of course these are both HUGE and you could easily spend a week in each (and still probably wouldn't see everything!)  The British Museum has the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles (which are actually statues from Greece that a guy named Lord Elgin may have stolen), and lots of mummies.  Victoria & Albert focuses on the decorative arts.  My favorites were the statues and the fashion exhibit.

Afternoon Tea, Friday, July 3rd

Nate, Michelle, Alexis & I walked up the block for traditional tea at the British Museum.  It was a delight!  We sat in the Great Court under an amazing domed skylight - you can see the reflection in the tea below. 

We each got our own pot of tea and a tower of food.  I had 'English Afternoon' tea, which is similar to English Breakfast tea, but seemed more appropriate for 3:30 pm.

Tea Sandwiches

 Grape & Gorgonzola was the best!

Scones with clotted cream & jam

Fancy mini-desserts: 

creme brulee, cheesecake, and lemon meringue pie

Oxford

     

We had a full day in Oxford today.  We toured the Bodleian Library - an incredible library that is so large they measure the number of volumes in miles!  It even has a large conveyor belt for distributing books.  No book ever leaves the library (in fact, they used to be chained to the stacks) and the librarians have to bring your request to you to view in the reading room.              

            

Christ Church College was another interesting spot.  This is where Lewis Carroll used to work -

 the author of Alice in Wonderland.  In fact, this weekend is Alice Day celebrating the story.  I love his word 'frabjous'!  Several Harry Potter scenes were filmed here also, including the

 dining hall in Hogwarts.

The literary history of Oxford extends even further.  C.S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia) and J.R.R.Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) both

 worked in the area.  We toured C.S. Lewis' (who was called Jack - nicknamed after a dog that died when he was a kid and because Clive Staples is a mouthful) home.  It was a charming cottage called The Kilns.  We saw the church where he worshipped and where he is now buried.

Hallelujah

I just got back from seeing the London production of Sister Act.  It was the perfect way to top off our three day church tour.  The girl that played the Whoopi role was excellent.  I was surprised that the music was all original - I sort of missed some of my favorites from the movie, but the new songs were really well done.  

Our church of the day was St. Paul's Cathedral.  It may be my favorite; it was so beautiful.  Just when you think it can't get more ornate, there is MORE gilding, higher ceilings, and marble statues!  But of course, they don't allow pictures, so you'll have to take my word for it.  We had a "supertour" which was very informative.  We saw the staircase from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Duke of Wellington's tomb, and this is the church where Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married.  We climbed 528 to the top for some great views on the top of the dome.

Our photography focus was to take motion shots of transportation in Trafalgar Square (quite difficult!), but after tackling that we had time to tour the National Gallery (Van Gogh, Monet, and many, many more great pieces of artwork), and the National Portrait Gallery (I liked the one of the HP kids best.)   

Today is Canada Day.  I'm assuming everywhere, but definitely here in the UK.  We happened upon the Canada Day celebration in Trafalgar Square.  They had booths set up all around serving well-known Canadian cuisine (?) such as bison burgers, curly fries, and doughnuts.  They also had a stage set up for concerts and a roller hockey tournament.  My favorite was the actual horse and cardboard Mountie that you could pose with.  Makes me wonder what Londoners will do for the 4th of July this weekend!

Stonehenge/Salisbury

I had a nice day on our coach trip to Stonehenge and Salisbury (Land of the Steak?)  Stonehenge is impressive if you think try to contemplate how and why the stones are in that arrangement.  Some theories given on the audio tour are: aliens, Merlin, and/or The Devil.  Though probably not true, they are entertaining!  It isn't as big as I had imagined it and it is a shame that you can't touch the stones.  The experience was sort of like my grandparents trip to the Grand Canyon - "Yep, looks just like the pictures," they said, then left.  Same thing with Stonehenge.

Next, we went

to Salisbury Cathedral.  It was similar to Westminister Abbey, but this time we were able to take pictures of the inside. The ceilings are soaring way up overhead, with gorgeous stonework and elaborate stained glass windows.

Stephanie and I ate a picnic lunch in the grassy area out front, then toured the town.  On Tuesdays they have a market in old downtown.  It was a lot like a flea

 market/garage sale with fruits and vegetables, odd clothing, (including an underwear stand), and random car mats. 

Next, we wandered into the local library.  It was  in a renovated office building, but they made it really homey with kids artwork and colorful displays in the children's section.  I asked the librarian in that area about some good titles to

 share with my girls back in the U.S.  She was very happy to talk to us and was quite surprised by our blank looks when she

 mentioned some of the popular children's literature authors in the UK.  Some of her suggestions are: picture books by Julia Donaldson (Room on a Broom was her favorite)and The Whisperer by Nick Butterworth; The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton; The Horrid Henry series by Francesca Simon; and books by Michael Morpurgo.  It was interesting to talk to a British librarian and to hear what books are popular with children over here.

Wow - what a day!

We officially started classes here in London this morning.  After a short classroom session, we headed off to Westminister Abbey, which happens to be across the street from the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.  Could there be a better place to focus on photographing buildings?

We took a tour of Westminister Abbey (with Hugh, our favorite Blue Badge Guide.)  Photographs are no longer allowed inside the Abbey, so I can't share with you how awe-striking it is.  It is so ornately detailed - everywhere you look are more decorative tombs, ceilings, and architectural accents.  The history of the place is hard to comprehend as an American.  It is so closely tied with the monarchy and there are kings and queens from the 1400s buried alongside famous scientists (such as Isaac Newton) and authors (Chaucer and Rudyard Kipling, and more.)

 

We also saw the Guards and #10 Downing Street.  Just after I posed with one, an officer came over and inspected him.  He fiddled with his belt and made sure he was holding his sword at precisely the correct angle.

Up close you can hardly tell the gigantic London Eye is moving, but it moves surprisingly fast.  It provided amazing views of the city; it was a unique perspective.